Summer Escape with the Tycoon

“But I made mistakes. I was so focused on providing us with material...well, not even comforts. Necessities. I started to equate my role as provider with one of love. And as a result, I alienated all of you. I just want to say I’m sorry. You’re my family first.”

Adam looked up. “When we started the dealership, you weren’t exactly supportive of our abilities. You offered us cash. Like we couldn’t do it on our own.”

“I know.” He finally sat in the chair and let out a sigh. “Look, those early years after he left, they were really tough. You guys were small and maybe you don’t remember, but I promised myself that no one in my family would ever have to be in that position ever again. So my misguided way of showing I cared for you was also arrogant and self-serving. I can’t change the past, but I want to be a part of this family again. If there’s a place for me.”

He looked up and saw his mother’s eyes brimming with tears. Robert cleared his throat, got up and slapped Eric on the shoulder. “Then you should have brought the beer,” he said, just before a broad smile spread across his face. He ruffled Eric’s hair before reaching for his wife, who was also smiling. “It’s about time.”

His mother nodded. “I thank you for this house, and for all you’ve given us. But we really just wanted you.”

It reminded him so much of something Molly would say that his heart gave a lurch.

And as the family dinner was served, he realized this was a pretty good place to make a change.

* * *

Two days later, Eric tapped his fingers on his keyboard without actually pressing the keys. The email had come through this morning and he still hadn’t answered it. He didn’t know how. Truth was, he didn’t like how he’d behaved on that last day. She’d wanted to talk and he’d shut her down and walked away. Now, with a few weeks’ distance, he could put that last morning in perspective. Had she been wrong to ask him? Probably. But had her motives been calculated? He highly doubted it. Everything he knew about her—in his head and in his heart—said that she wasn’t the kind to take advantage of him over money.

She’d been caught up in the idea and hadn’t thought things through. And boy, had he punished her for that. All because he was a coward and it had given him the out he hadn’t realized he was looking for.

The words unlovable and emotionally unavailable came back to bite him, too, thanks to Murielle’s parting shots. The only good thing to happen since his trip was the visit to see his family. A bridge had been tentatively built. They were family, and that counted for more than anything.

Which brought him back to the email on his screen. From Molly. She’d left the family firm after all and was taking time to evaluate her options. Meanwhile, she was wondering if she could have some of the pictures from the trip after they’d smashed their phones. And then she’d ended the email with “Best wishes, Molly.”

So very polite. When all he could think about was their time together. He’d meant what he said at Butchart Gardens. He had been falling for her...was already over half in love with her. It had scared him to death and what happened that last morning had given him the excuse he needed to run.

Because it wasn’t just her he hadn’t trusted. It was himself. And love in general. Time away from her hadn’t changed his feelings one bit.

He told his assistant to hold his calls for a half hour and instead went through the pictures and videos he’d downloaded to the cloud. There were several of scenery and wildlife, but also many featuring her...on the river, in her kayak, laughing around the campfire. One at the museum and even in a few group pictures. The last few days they’d taken a couple of selfies; one in particular he liked in the double kayak, with his face up front and her behind him, looking like a goofy kind of photobomb. And another in Butchart Gardens, of her on the carousel, whimsically happy.

The chances of them working out were slim, but he couldn’t stay angry at her forever, not when he’d acted—reacted—the way he had.

So he shared the folder with her and told her she could have any of the photos and videos she wanted from the trip. That he hoped she was doing well.

Once that was done, he turned his attention back to work. Now Molly was on his mind, though, so he made a call to a colleague in Boston and asked about her. If she were working to mount some sort of challenge to his acquisition of Atlantic Bionics, he wanted to know about it.

Ten minutes later he hung up with a strange feeling in his chest.

She wasn’t on the project at all.

An email notification popped up on his screen and he clicked on it. It was a reply from Molly.

Thanks. I really wanted to have some photos to commemorate the trip. I do hope things are going well for you, Eric. And want you to know that I did leave my practice and that I did not take on the Atlantic Bionics thing. It would have been a conflict of interest, and you were right. It was wrong of me to have asked that of you.

He swallowed roughly and then typed back a response.

I shouldn’t have reacted as I did, either. I was too harsh. I know I have my reasons but that doesn’t excuse my behavior. I’m glad we’re not leaving things as we did that morning in Victoria.

Then he hesitated, wondering if he dare get more personal. Before he could change his mind, he added two sentences.

I hope you’re on your way to being happier. You deserve it.

Then he signed his name and hit Send.

He didn’t receive a reply until the next day, when her name popped up in his inbox when he opened his email after lunch. His heart did this little flutter thing just from seeing her name there, and his finger hovered over the mouse button, wanting to open it, wondering

if he should.

Nothing had really changed. He was still in Montreal and she was in Boston. Even if they were both committed to try a relationship, it would be incredibly difficult. And clearly, after his reaction in the seaplane that day, he was far from being ready for a commitment. He had a lot of trust issues to work through, going back many years.